Introduction

History

Cogwheel began in 1988 and one of the founding members was Jenny Joice a practising Christian who following her own personal turbulent history was inspired to collaborate with others to open up a counselling centre which would be readily available to people. She worked with others in her Church communities to provide a voluntary and accessible counselling service to those in need. Initially the counsellors worked from a Christian perspective but Jenny was adamant that the counselling should not be confined by the narrow limitations of the training and practices of the prevailing Christian counselling courses. To quote from Jenny â€œunlike other Christian Counselling Services springing up at the time key to the Cogwheel vision was a real sense of communal interdependence, a flat organisation which offered the wider Cambridge community love and understanding in action, with no hidden agenda of evangelism or placing â€˜bums on pewsâ€™. Counsellors were expected to have undertaken rigorous training on accredited secular courses. One of the riches of this communal life was that with so many counsellors trained and working with different therapeutic models, understanding and learning continued through shared supervision (sic)

The Cogwheel team now

Cogwheel is most fortunate to have a team of almost 45 dedicated part time counsellors. Many of our counsellors are volunteers who usually commit to working for the organisation for at least two years or more. Our counsellors are professionally trained or in the final stages of their qualification and are able offer a variety of counselling approaches, from psychodynamic to person centred to cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Many of them are accredited or working towards accreditation with BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) and or UKCP (United Kingdom of Counsellors and Psychotherapists). All counsellors are supported in their clinical work by a team of qualified and experienced supervisors who ensure that the work carried out is ethical and professional and in keeping with BACP guidelines.

Behind the Scenes

Cogwheel has a small team who provide essential administrative support without whom the work could not take place. We have a Lead Administrator who takes referrals and books appointments and generally liaises with clients and counsellors.
There is a Clinical Administrator who deals with the database and documentation.
She is also the Childrenâ€™s Liaison Worker and coordinates the work between the childrenâ€™s therapists and parents. There is a finance officer and a fundraiser who bring their expertise and commitment to the benefit of the organisation
Overseeing the whole charity and guiding us is a small and equally dedicated group of Trustees who between them provide a range of expertise and experience in managing charities and community projects.

Mission Statement

The Cogwheel Trust is a charity, motivated by its Christian ethos, working throughout Cambridgeshire to improve the emotional and psychological well being of local people.

Objectives

The Cogwheel Trust endeavours to carry out its mission by:

Providing a range of counselling and psychotherapy services, including a substantial proportion of subsidised places for those on low income;

Improving access to counselling and psychotherapy services (our own and the services of other providers in the region);

Promoting emotional and psychological well-being.

Christian Ethos

The Cogwheel Trust has a Christian ethos underpinning our values but we exist to serve all those with emotional and psychological difficulties, regardless of their faith position.

The Trustees relationship with, and faith in,Â Jesus Christ was central to the establishment of the Cogwheel Trust and continues to be at the heart of the Trustâ€™s ongoing work.Â We are not, however, a proselytising organisation: Cogwheel offers a secular service from a Christian motivation. Â We employ staff and volunteers who are Christians, other faiths and no faith; we do not provide Christian Counselling, though this could be arranged by referral. Â

We find that the Christian ethos underpinning our values and work has created a culture of passion, commitment, care and humility in our team. People with whom we work are accepted for who they are, and not judged. This is part of what makes Cogwheelâ€™s work unique and effective.

Values Statement

Stemming from the Christian ethos The Cogwheel Trustâ€™s values are:-

Cogwheel affirms the value of every person: All people connected with Cogwheel are valued for who they are and encouraged, supported and challenged to become what they can be.Â Cogwheel is characterised by inclusiveness, diversity and mutual respect.

Cogwheel encourages personal development and positive change: We start with the belief that each person is unique and deserves to be respected and genuinely cared for as they are; and as someone who has a future to be discovered and developed.

Cogwheel values participation: Â All people have a valuable contribution to make in shaping services, helping others, building relationships and strengthening communities. Â Cogwheel works with the community, not just for the community, and seeks opportunities for all people to participate in its mission.

About the Cogwheel Trust

A Cambridge based organisation with hubs at Sawston and Ely that provides affordable professional counselling to the community. We ask people to make a regular financial contribution towards their counselling. The hours are Monday to Friday 9 till 8pm Please telephone for an appointment